Bel Air (song)
|DS = |album = Paradise |previous = "Yayo" |next = "Burning Desire" }} "Bel Air" is a song written by Lana Del Rey and co-written and produced by Dan Heath. It is the closing track of her third EP, and second major-label release, Paradise. Writing and inspiration "Bel Air" was recorded during the sessions for Paradise. Lyrically, it references many topics that previously appeared in Del Rey's music, such as roses, palm trees, and heaven. It also references the Los Angeles neighbourhood Bel-Air. Composition and recording The song is an airy ballad, the prototypical sound used throughout Del Rey's career. It begins with sounds of children playing overlapped with a light piano accompaniment. Del Rey's vocals begin softly, and melodically build throughout the composition of the song. Light percussion is heard during the choruses, featuring multiple layers of Del Rey's vocals, performed in a higher pitch than previously heard on her work on Born to Die. The song ends with a fade out of the sound of the children. The song was recorded at Electric Lemon Studios and Westlake Studios in Los Angeles, California, and it was mixed at House of Blues Studios in Los Angeles, California. Critical reception Canada.com reviewer Leah Collins called "Bel Air" an Enya-channeled, eerie waltz.http://o.canada.com/2012/11/08/lana-del-rey-debuts-bel-air-video-teases-short-film/ Conversely, The Huffington Post dismissed both "Bel Air" and "Yayo" as Paradise's "filler tracks".http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/12/review-lana-del-rey-paradise-review_n_2118735.html Dissatisfied with other songs on Paradise, Digital Spy said, on "Bel Air", Del Rey finally gets it right, calling the song "a snowy, Tim Burton-inspired ballad".http://www.digitalspy.com/music/albumreviews/a437881/lana-del-rey-paradise-ep-review.html Cross-references *Lyrical mention of "Roses", an unreleased song and common theme in Del Rey's work. *The phrase "palm trees in the light" is reminiscent of themes in "Jump". *"Gargoyles, standing, at the front of your gate; trying to tell me to wait" is a similar lyric to "I'm hoping at the gates they'll tell me that you're mine" from "Born to Die" Official versions * Album version — 3:57 * Instrumental version — 3:51 Music video Original music video Background During the filming for "Summertime Sadness", Del Rey recorded extra footage that would later be used for the Paradise trailer. The excess footage was also used to construct the video for "Bel Air". The video was privatized in February, 2013, for unexplained reasons although unofficial uploads still exist around the web. Description The video shows Del Rey, enrobed in a white gown, spinning and twirling slowly in a blanket of fog. The desaturated shots are colored purple, blue, green, red, sepia, and classic black and white throughout the video. The video was released as a promotional supplement on November 8, 2012, a day before the release of Paradise. The description section of the video states - "i lost my reputation, i forgot my truth. But i have my beauty and i have my youth. Tropico the film, coming next year". Tropico music video Del Rey's short film, Tropico (released December 6, 2013), contains a second music video for "Bel Air", as part of the third and final chapter of Tropico ''titled ''Bel Air. It shows Del Rey and actor Shaun Ross dancing in a field as the sun sets. Lyrics Credits Personnel * Lana Del Rey — vocals, backing vocals, songwriting * Dan Heath — songwriting, production, engineering, strings, piano * Kathleen Sloan & Songa Lee — violins * Tucker Robinson & Nikki Calvert — engineering * Jeff Rothschild — mixing * Peter Stanislaus — mix engineer * John Davis — mastering Charts References Category:Music videos Category:Paradise music videos Category:Paradise songs Category:Songs Category:Released songs Category:Tropico songs